BILL REQ. #: H-3477.1
State of Washington | 62nd Legislature | 2012 Regular Session |
Read first time 01/11/12. Referred to Committee on Early Learning & Human Services.
AN ACT Relating to establishing a flexible approach to child protective services; amending RCW 26.44.030; reenacting and amending RCW 26.44.020, 74.13.020, and 74.13.031; and adding a new chapter to Title 74 RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 The legislature recognizes that reports of
child abuse and neglect which allege a serious threat of substantial or
imminent harm to children must be responded to immediately with a
thorough investigation of the allegations. However, the legislature
also finds that the majority of reports of child abuse and neglect do
not involve children in danger of experiencing substantial or imminent
harm; many reports involve nonemergent neglect. The legislature
acknowledges that families who do not present a serious threat of
substantial child maltreatment may be better served through a more
positive response that focuses less on forensic investigation of
specific allegations and more on the assessment of the family's overall
need for assistance and engagement in services that meet their needs to
prevent future maltreatment. The legislature intends to provide a more
effective response to allegations of nonemergent neglect and to enable
more children to remain safely in their own homes with appropriate
support and services.
The legislature also finds that rigorous evaluations of
alternatives to investigation in other jurisdictions have demonstrated
that the integration of a noninvestigative approach within child
protective services can yield positive outcomes for children and
families, social workers, and community partnerships and reduce long-term costs to child welfare agencies. Evaluations indicate that these
noninvestigative alternatives in other jurisdictions have not
compromised child safety and have reduced subsequent involvement of
children and families in the child welfare system. It is the
legislature's intent that child safety will not be compromised.
The legislature recognizes that partnerships with private
philanthropic organizations have played a crucial role in achieving
positive outcomes for children and families involved in the public
child welfare system. The legislature intends to build upon successful
relationships already established with private philanthropic partners
to implement system reforms and improve outcomes for children and
families.
Therefore, the legislature intends to implement a flexible response
system within child protective services, including a family assessment
response, to better serve families where alleged maltreatment does not
present a serious or imminent threat of substantial harm to children.
Implementation of family assessment response, in addition to
investigation, is intended to improve child safety and reduce
disruption to families by engaging families in an assessment of their
needs, and providing appropriate services to prevent future
maltreatment. The legislature intends to authorize an initial
implementation phase to test the effectiveness of a family assessment
model, leading to statewide implementation of a family assessment
response within child protective services. The department is directed
to incorporate evidence-based, research-based, and promising practices
in family assessment response to the greatest practicable extent.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2 The definitions in this section apply
throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
(1) "Department" means the department of social and health
services.
(2) "Family assessment" means a comprehensive assessment of child
safety, risk of subsequent child maltreatment, and family strengths and
needs based on available and relevant information. It is a tool that
can be used to respond to certain reports of child abuse and neglect
under section 3 of this act.
(3) "Family assessment response" means a way of responding to
certain reports of child abuse and neglect, using a differential
response approach to child protective services, consistent with section
3 of this act. Family assessment response does not include a
determination of whether or not child abuse or neglect occurred, but
does determine need for services. No one is named as a perpetrator,
and no investigative finding is entered in the record as a result of a
family assessment response.
(4) "Family assessment worker" means a worker whose role is to
engage families for the purposes of conducting family assessments,
identifying and reducing child safety risks, and in collaboration with
community partners, identifying services that are needed to keep the
child safely at home.
(5) "Site" means a defined geographic area or specific child
welfare office, or offices, within, or across, one of the service
delivery regions of children's administration selected by the
department under section 3 of this act.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3 (1) The department shall select at least two
sites to begin the process of implementing family assessment response
for child protective services statewide. The sites must include at
least one urban and one rural area. Implementation of the initial
sites is contingent on the provision of funding from philanthropic
partners to support needed services for families engaged in family
assessment response.
(2) The department shall develop an implementation plan in
consultation with stakeholders, including tribes. The department shall
submit a summary report of the implementation plan to the legislature
by September 2012. The implementation plan is deemed approved unless
the legislature takes affirmative action in law to reject or modify the
plan. At minimum, the following must be developed prior to
implementation, and included in the summary report:
(a) Description of the family assessment response practice model;
(b) Identification of possible additional noninvestigative
responses or pathways;
(c) Delineation of staff training requirements prior and post
implementation of initial sites and how they will be met;
(d) Development of strategies to reduce disproportionality;
(e) Development of strategies to secure safe and stable housing for
child-welfare involved families;
(f) Identification of methods to involve local community partners
in the development of community-based resources to meet families'
needs. Local community partners may include, but are not limited to:
Alumni of the foster care system and veteran parents, local private
service delivery agencies, schools, local health departments and other
health care providers, juvenile court, law enforcement, office of
public defense social workers or local defense attorneys, and other
available community-based entities. The legislature prefers that
involvement of local community representatives be accomplished using
existing relevant groups wherever possible;
(g) Delineation of procedures to assure continuous quality
assurance;
(h) Identification of current departmental expenditures for
services appropriate for family assessment response, to the greatest
practicable extent;
(i) Identification of philanthropic and other private funding
available to supplement public resources in response to identified
family needs;
(j) Statement of time frames for operating family assessment
response sites; and
(k) Delineation of policies and procedures necessary to implement
sites, including triage procedures.
(3) The sites selected to implement family assessment response must
operate within the following guidelines:
(a) Use one of the following discrete responses to reports of child
abuse or neglect that are screened in and accepted for departmental
response:
(i) Investigation; or
(ii) Family assessment;
(b) Utilize a method to assign cases to investigation or family
assessment, based on an array of factors which may include: The
presence of imminent danger, level of risk, number of previous reports,
source of the report, or other presenting case characteristics, such as
the type of alleged maltreatment and the age of the alleged victim;
(c) Allow for a change in response assignment based on new
information that alters risk or safety level;
(d) Allow families assigned to family assessment to choose to
receive an investigation rather than a family assessment;
(e) Provide a full investigation if a family refuses the initial
family assessment;
(f) Provide voluntary services to families based on the results of
the initial family assessment. If a family refuses voluntary services,
and the department cannot identify specific facts related to risk or
safety factors that warrant an investigation under chapter 26.44 RCW,
then the department must close the family assessment case. However, if
at any time the department identifies risk or safety factors that
warrant an investigation under chapter 26.44 RCW, then the family
assessment case must be closed, and an investigation must be conducted;
(g) Conduct an investigation, and not a family assessment, in
response to allegations that the department determines, based on the
initial intake assessment, pose:
(i) Risk of "imminent harm" consistent with the definition provided
in RCW 13.34.050, which includes, but is not limited to sexual abuse
and sexual exploitation as defined in chapter 26.44 RCW;
(ii) A serious threat of substantial harm to a child, consistent
with chapter 26.44 RCW;
(iii) Conduct involving a criminal offense that has, or is about to
occur, in which the child is the victim, consistent with chapter 26.44
RCW;
(iv) A prior founded report of abuse or neglect with regard to a
member of the household has been made within three years of receipt of
the referral, consistent with chapter 26.44 RCW;
(v) An abandoned child consistent with RCW 13.34.030;
(vi) An adjudicated dependent child as defined in RCW 13.34.030 is
involved, or the child is in a facility that is licensed, operated, or
certified for care of children by the department, under chapter 74.13
RCW, or by the department of early learning;
(h) Establish a forty-five-day time limit for family assessment
response cases with provision of exceptions based on the safety of the
child;
(i) Maintain the confidentiality of families involved in family
assessment response. Relevant information about families may be shared
with agencies and service providers as needed, but those agencies and
service providers may not subject information about the family to
public disclosure; and
(j) Provide families engaged in family assessment response with
information about the process and instructions on how to contact the
office of the family and children's ombudsman to address disputes with
the department.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4 The Washington state institute for public
policy shall conduct a rigorous evaluation of each implementation site
in consultation with the department and other members of the child
welfare research community. The institute shall define the data to be
gathered and maintained in consultation with the department. At a
minimum, the evaluations must address child safety measures, out-of-home placement rates, re-referral rates, and caseloads. The institute
shall deliver a progress report to the legislature after the
demonstration sites have been operating for one and one-half years.
The institute shall deliver the final evaluation reports after the
demonstration sites have been operating for three years. The
legislature shall consider the final evaluation results and decide
whether to authorize statewide implementation of a family assessment
response.
Sec. 5 RCW 26.44.020 and 2010 c 176 s 1 are each reenacted and
amended to read as follows:
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter
unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
(1) "Abuse or neglect" means sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, or
injury of a child by any person under circumstances which cause harm to
the child's health, welfare, or safety, excluding conduct permitted
under RCW 9A.16.100; or the negligent treatment or maltreatment of a
child by a person responsible for or providing care to the child. An
abused child is a child who has been subjected to child abuse or
neglect as defined in this section.
(2) "Child" or "children" means any person under the age of
eighteen years of age.
(3) "Child protective services" means those services provided by
the department designed to protect children from child abuse and
neglect and safeguard such children from future abuse and neglect, and
conduct investigations of child abuse and neglect reports.
Investigations may be conducted regardless of the location of the
alleged abuse or neglect. Child protective services includes referral
to services to ameliorate conditions that endanger the welfare of
children, the coordination of necessary programs and services relevant
to the prevention, intervention, and treatment of child abuse and
neglect, and services to children to ensure that each child has a
permanent home. In determining whether protective services should be
provided, the department shall not decline to provide such services
solely because of the child's unwillingness or developmental inability
to describe the nature and severity of the abuse or neglect.
(4) "Child protective services section" means the child protective
services section of the department.
(5) "Children's advocacy center" means a child-focused facility in
good standing with the state chapter for children's advocacy centers
and that coordinates a multidisciplinary process for the investigation,
prosecution, and treatment of sexual and other types of child abuse.
Children's advocacy centers provide a location for forensic interviews
and coordinate access to services such as, but not limited to, medical
evaluations, advocacy, therapy, and case review by multidisciplinary
teams within the context of county protocols as defined in RCW
26.44.180 and 26.44.185.
(6) "Clergy" means any regularly licensed or ordained minister,
priest, or rabbi of any church or religious denomination, whether
acting in an individual capacity or as an employee or agent of any
public or private organization or institution.
(7) "Court" means the superior court of the state of Washington,
juvenile department.
(8) "Department" means the state department of social and health
services.
(9) "Founded" means the determination following an investigation by
the department that, based on available information, it is more likely
than not that child abuse or neglect did occur.
(10) "Inconclusive" means the determination following an
investigation by the department, prior to October 1, 2008, that based
on available information a decision cannot be made that more likely
than not, child abuse or neglect did or did not occur.
(11) "Institution" means a private or public hospital or any other
facility providing medical diagnosis, treatment, or care.
(12) "Law enforcement agency" means the police department, the
prosecuting attorney, the state patrol, the director of public safety,
or the office of the sheriff.
(13) "Malice" or "maliciously" means an intent, wish, or design to
intimidate, annoy, or injure another person. Such malice may be
inferred from an act done in willful disregard of the rights of
another, or an act wrongfully done without just cause or excuse, or an
act or omission of duty betraying a willful disregard of social duty.
(14) "Negligent treatment or maltreatment" means an act or a
failure to act, or the cumulative effects of a pattern of conduct,
behavior, or inaction, that evidences a serious disregard of
consequences of such magnitude as to constitute a clear and present
danger to a child's health, welfare, or safety, including but not
limited to conduct prohibited under RCW 9A.42.100. When considering
whether a clear and present danger exists, evidence of a parent's
substance abuse as a contributing factor to negligent treatment or
maltreatment shall be given great weight. The fact that siblings share
a bedroom is not, in and of itself, negligent treatment or
maltreatment. Poverty, homelessness, or exposure to domestic violence
as defined in RCW 26.50.010 that is perpetrated against someone other
than the child does not constitute negligent treatment or maltreatment
in and of itself.
(15) "Pharmacist" means any registered pharmacist under chapter
18.64 RCW, whether acting in an individual capacity or as an employee
or agent of any public or private organization or institution.
(16) "Practitioner of the healing arts" or "practitioner" means a
person licensed by this state to practice podiatric medicine and
surgery, optometry, chiropractic, nursing, dentistry, osteopathic
medicine and surgery, or medicine and surgery or to provide other
health services. The term "practitioner" includes a duly accredited
Christian Science practitioner. A person who is being furnished
Christian Science treatment by a duly accredited Christian Science
practitioner will not be considered, for that reason alone, a neglected
person for the purposes of this chapter.
(17) "Professional school personnel" include, but are not limited
to, teachers, counselors, administrators, child care facility
personnel, and school nurses.
(18) "Psychologist" means any person licensed to practice
psychology under chapter 18.83 RCW, whether acting in an individual
capacity or as an employee or agent of any public or private
organization or institution.
(19) "Screened-out report" means a report of alleged child abuse or
neglect that the department has determined does not rise to the level
of a credible report of abuse or neglect and is not referred for
investigation.
(20) "Sexual exploitation" includes: (a) Allowing, permitting, or
encouraging a child to engage in prostitution by any person; or (b)
allowing, permitting, encouraging, or engaging in the obscene or
pornographic photographing, filming, or depicting of a child by any
person.
(21) "Sexually aggressive youth" means a child who is defined in
RCW 74.13.075(1)(b) as being a sexually aggressive youth.
(22) "Social service counselor" means anyone engaged in a
professional capacity during the regular course of employment in
encouraging or promoting the health, welfare, support, or education of
children, or providing social services to adults or families, including
mental health, drug and alcohol treatment, and domestic violence
programs, whether in an individual capacity, or as an employee or agent
of any public or private organization or institution.
(23) "Supervising agency" means an agency licensed by the state
under RCW 74.15.090 or an Indian tribe under RCW 74.15.190 that has
entered into a performance-based contract with the department to
provide child welfare services.
(24) "Unfounded" means the determination following an investigation
by the department that available information indicates that, more
likely than not, child abuse or neglect did not occur, or that there is
insufficient evidence for the department to determine whether the
alleged child abuse did or did not occur.
(25) "Family assessment response" has the same meaning as provided
in section 2 of this act.
Sec. 6 RCW 26.44.030 and 2009 c 480 s 1 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1)(a) When any practitioner, county coroner or medical examiner,
law enforcement officer, professional school personnel, registered or
licensed nurse, social service counselor, psychologist, pharmacist,
employee of the department of early learning, licensed or certified
child care providers or their employees, employee of the department,
juvenile probation officer, placement and liaison specialist,
responsible living skills program staff, HOPE center staff, or state
family and children's ombudsman or any volunteer in the ombudsman's
office has reasonable cause to believe that a child has suffered abuse
or neglect, he or she shall report such incident, or cause a report to
be made, to the proper law enforcement agency or to the department as
provided in RCW 26.44.040.
(b) When any person, in his or her official supervisory capacity
with a nonprofit or for-profit organization, has reasonable cause to
believe that a child has suffered abuse or neglect caused by a person
over whom he or she regularly exercises supervisory authority, he or
she shall report such incident, or cause a report to be made, to the
proper law enforcement agency, provided that the person alleged to have
caused the abuse or neglect is employed by, contracted by, or
volunteers with the organization and coaches, trains, educates, or
counsels a child or children or regularly has unsupervised access to a
child or children as part of the employment, contract, or voluntary
service. No one shall be required to report under this section when he
or she obtains the information solely as a result of a privileged
communication as provided in RCW 5.60.060.
Nothing in this subsection (1)(b) shall limit a person's duty to
report under (a) of this subsection.
For the purposes of this subsection, the following definitions
apply:
(i) "Official supervisory capacity" means a position, status, or
role created, recognized, or designated by any nonprofit or for-profit
organization, either for financial gain or without financial gain,
whose scope includes, but is not limited to, overseeing, directing, or
managing another person who is employed by, contracted by, or
volunteers with the nonprofit or for-profit organization.
(ii) "Regularly exercises supervisory authority" means to act in
his or her official supervisory capacity on an ongoing or continuing
basis with regards to a particular person.
(c) The reporting requirement also applies to department of
corrections personnel who, in the course of their employment, observe
offenders or the children with whom the offenders are in contact. If,
as a result of observations or information received in the course of
his or her employment, any department of corrections personnel has
reasonable cause to believe that a child has suffered abuse or neglect,
he or she shall report the incident, or cause a report to be made, to
the proper law enforcement agency or to the department as provided in
RCW 26.44.040.
(d) The reporting requirement shall also apply to any adult who has
reasonable cause to believe that a child who resides with them, has
suffered severe abuse, and is able or capable of making a report. For
the purposes of this subsection, "severe abuse" means any of the
following: Any single act of abuse that causes physical trauma of
sufficient severity that, if left untreated, could cause death; any
single act of sexual abuse that causes significant bleeding, deep
bruising, or significant external or internal swelling; or more than
one act of physical abuse, each of which causes bleeding, deep
bruising, significant external or internal swelling, bone fracture, or
unconsciousness.
(e) The reporting requirement also applies to guardians ad litem,
including court-appointed special advocates, appointed under Titles 11,
13, and 26 RCW, who in the course of their representation of children
in these actions have reasonable cause to believe a child has been
abused or neglected.
(f) The report must be made at the first opportunity, but in no
case longer than forty-eight hours after there is reasonable cause to
believe that the child has suffered abuse or neglect. The report must
include the identity of the accused if known.
(2) The reporting requirement of subsection (1) of this section
does not apply to the discovery of abuse or neglect that occurred
during childhood if it is discovered after the child has become an
adult. However, if there is reasonable cause to believe other children
are or may be at risk of abuse or neglect by the accused, the reporting
requirement of subsection (1) of this section does apply.
(3) Any other person who has reasonable cause to believe that a
child has suffered abuse or neglect may report such incident to the
proper law enforcement agency or to the department of social and health
services as provided in RCW 26.44.040.
(4) The department, upon receiving a report of an incident of
alleged abuse or neglect pursuant to this chapter, involving a child
who has died or has had physical injury or injuries inflicted upon him
or her other than by accidental means or who has been subjected to
alleged sexual abuse, shall report such incident to the proper law
enforcement agency. In emergency cases, where the child's welfare is
endangered, the department shall notify the proper law enforcement
agency within twenty-four hours after a report is received by the
department. In all other cases, the department shall notify the law
enforcement agency within seventy-two hours after a report is received
by the department. If the department makes an oral report, a written
report must also be made to the proper law enforcement agency within
five days thereafter.
(5) Any law enforcement agency receiving a report of an incident of
alleged abuse or neglect pursuant to this chapter, involving a child
who has died or has had physical injury or injuries inflicted upon him
or her other than by accidental means, or who has been subjected to
alleged sexual abuse, shall report such incident in writing as provided
in RCW 26.44.040 to the proper county prosecutor or city attorney for
appropriate action whenever the law enforcement agency's investigation
reveals that a crime may have been committed. The law enforcement
agency shall also notify the department of all reports received and the
law enforcement agency's disposition of them. In emergency cases,
where the child's welfare is endangered, the law enforcement agency
shall notify the department within twenty-four hours. In all other
cases, the law enforcement agency shall notify the department within
seventy-two hours after a report is received by the law enforcement
agency.
(6) Any county prosecutor or city attorney receiving a report under
subsection (5) of this section shall notify the victim, any persons the
victim requests, and the local office of the department, of the
decision to charge or decline to charge a crime, within five days of
making the decision.
(7) The department may conduct ongoing case planning and
consultation with those persons or agencies required to report under
this section, with consultants designated by the department, and with
designated representatives of Washington Indian tribes if the client
information exchanged is pertinent to cases currently receiving child
protective services. Upon request, the department shall conduct such
planning and consultation with those persons required to report under
this section if the department determines it is in the best interests
of the child. Information considered privileged by statute and not
directly related to reports required by this section must not be
divulged without a valid written waiver of the privilege.
(8) Any case referred to the department by a physician licensed
under chapter 18.57 or 18.71 RCW on the basis of an expert medical
opinion that child abuse, neglect, or sexual assault has occurred and
that the child's safety will be seriously endangered if returned home,
the department shall file a dependency petition unless a second
licensed physician of the parents' choice believes that such expert
medical opinion is incorrect. If the parents fail to designate a
second physician, the department may make the selection. If a
physician finds that a child has suffered abuse or neglect but that
such abuse or neglect does not constitute imminent danger to the
child's health or safety, and the department agrees with the
physician's assessment, the child may be left in the parents' home
while the department proceeds with reasonable efforts to remedy
parenting deficiencies.
(9) Persons or agencies exchanging information under subsection (7)
of this section shall not further disseminate or release the
information except as authorized by state or federal statute.
Violation of this subsection is a misdemeanor.
(10) Upon receiving a report of alleged abuse or neglect, the
department shall make reasonable efforts to learn the name, address,
and telephone number of each person making a report of abuse or neglect
under this section. The department shall provide assurances of
appropriate confidentiality of the identification of persons reporting
under this section. If the department is unable to learn the
information required under this subsection, the department shall only
investigate cases in which:
(a) The department believes there is a serious threat of
substantial harm to the child;
(b) The report indicates conduct involving a criminal offense that
has, or is about to occur, in which the child is the victim; or
(c) The department has a prior founded report of abuse or neglect
with regard to a member of the household that is within three years of
receipt of the referral.
(11) The department may provide a family assessment response
consistent with section 3 of this act.
(12)(a) For reports of alleged abuse or neglect that are accepted
for investigation by the department, the investigation shall be
conducted within time frames established by the department in rule. In
no case shall the investigation extend longer than ninety days from the
date the report is received, unless the investigation is being
conducted under a written protocol pursuant to RCW 26.44.180 and a law
enforcement agency or prosecuting attorney has determined that a longer
investigation period is necessary. At the completion of the
investigation, the department shall make a finding that the report of
child abuse or neglect is founded or unfounded.
(b) If a court in a civil or criminal proceeding, considering the
same facts or circumstances as are contained in the report being
investigated by the department, makes a judicial finding by a
preponderance of the evidence or higher that the subject of the pending
investigation has abused or neglected the child, the department shall
adopt the finding in its investigation.
(((12))) (13) In conducting an investigation of alleged abuse or
neglect, the department or law enforcement agency:
(a) May interview children. The interviews may be conducted on
school premises, at day-care facilities, at the child's home, or at
other suitable locations outside of the presence of parents. Parental
notification of the interview must occur at the earliest possible point
in the investigation that will not jeopardize the safety or protection
of the child or the course of the investigation. Prior to commencing
the interview the department or law enforcement agency shall determine
whether the child wishes a third party to be present for the interview
and, if so, shall make reasonable efforts to accommodate the child's
wishes. Unless the child objects, the department or law enforcement
agency shall make reasonable efforts to include a third party in any
interview so long as the presence of the third party will not
jeopardize the course of the investigation; and
(b) Shall have access to all relevant records of the child in the
possession of mandated reporters and their employees.
(((13))) (14) If a report of alleged abuse or neglect is founded
and constitutes the third founded report received by the department
within the last twelve months involving the same child or family, the
department shall promptly notify the office of the family and
children's ombudsman of the contents of the report. The department
shall also notify the ombudsman of the disposition of the report.
(((14))) (15) In investigating and responding to allegations of
child abuse and neglect, the department may conduct background checks
as authorized by state and federal law.
(((15))) (16) The department shall maintain investigation records
and conduct timely and periodic reviews of all founded cases of abuse
and neglect. The department shall maintain a log of screened-out
nonabusive cases.
(((16))) (17) The department shall use a risk assessment process
when investigating alleged child abuse and neglect referrals. The
department shall present the risk factors at all hearings in which the
placement of a dependent child is an issue. Substance abuse must be a
risk factor. The department shall, within funds appropriated for this
purpose, offer enhanced community-based services to persons who are
determined not to require further state intervention.
(((17))) (18) Upon receipt of a report of alleged abuse or neglect
the law enforcement agency may arrange to interview the person making
the report and any collateral sources to determine if any malice is
involved in the reporting.
(((18))) (19) Upon receiving a report of alleged abuse or neglect
involving a child under the court's jurisdiction under chapter 13.34
RCW, the department shall promptly notify the child's guardian ad litem
of the report's contents. The department shall also notify the
guardian ad litem of the disposition of the report. For purposes of
this subsection, "guardian ad litem" has the meaning provided in RCW
13.34.030.
Sec. 7 RCW 74.13.020 and 2011 c 330 s 4 are each reenacted and
amended to read as follows:
For purposes of this chapter:
(1) "Case management" means the management of services delivered to
children and families in the child welfare system, including permanency
services, caseworker-child visits, family visits, the convening of
family group conferences, the development and revision of the case
plan, the coordination and monitoring of services needed by the child
and family, and the assumption of court-related duties, excluding legal
representation, including preparing court reports, attending judicial
hearings and permanency hearings, and ensuring that the child is
progressing toward permanency within state and federal mandates,
including the Indian child welfare act.
(2) "Child" means:
(a) A person less than eighteen years of age; or
(b) A person age eighteen to twenty-one years who is eligible to
receive the extended foster care services authorized under RCW
74.13.031.
(3) "Child protective services" has the same meaning as in RCW
26.44.020.
(4) "Child welfare services" means social services including
voluntary and in-home services, out-of-home care, case management, and
adoption services which strengthen, supplement, or substitute for,
parental care and supervision for the purpose of:
(a) Preventing or remedying, or assisting in the solution of
problems which may result in families in conflict, or the neglect,
abuse, exploitation, or criminal behavior of children;
(b) Protecting and caring for dependent, abused, or neglected
children;
(c) Assisting children who are in conflict with their parents, and
assisting parents who are in conflict with their children, with
services designed to resolve such conflicts;
(d) Protecting and promoting the welfare of children, including the
strengthening of their own homes where possible, or, where needed;
(e) Providing adequate care of children away from their homes in
foster family homes or day care or other child care agencies or
facilities.
"Child welfare services" does not include child protection
services.
(5) "Committee" means the child welfare transformation design
committee.
(6) "Department" means the department of social and health
services.
(7) "Extended foster care services" means residential and other
support services the department is authorized to provide to foster
children. These services include, but are not limited to, placement in
licensed, relative, or otherwise approved care, or supervised
independent living settings; assistance in meeting basic needs;
independent living services; medical assistance; and counseling or
treatment.
(8) "Measurable effects" means a statistically significant change
which occurs as a result of the service or services a supervising
agency is assigned in a performance-based contract, in time periods
established in the contract.
(9) "Out-of-home care services" means services provided after the
shelter care hearing to or for children in out-of-home care, as that
term is defined in RCW 13.34.030, and their families, including the
recruitment, training, and management of foster parents, the
recruitment of adoptive families, and the facilitation of the adoption
process, family reunification, independent living, emergency shelter,
residential group care, and foster care, including relative placement.
(10) "Performance-based contracting" means the structuring of all
aspects of the procurement of services around the purpose of the work
to be performed and the desired results with the contract requirements
set forth in clear, specific, and objective terms with measurable
outcomes. Contracts shall also include provisions that link the
performance of the contractor to the level and timing of reimbursement.
(11) "Permanency services" means long-term services provided to
secure a child's safety, permanency, and well-being, including foster
care services, family reunification services, adoption services, and
preparation for independent living services.
(12) "Primary prevention services" means services which are
designed and delivered for the primary purpose of enhancing child and
family well-being and are shown, by analysis of outcomes, to reduce the
risk to the likelihood of the initial need for child welfare services.
(13) "Supervising agency" means an agency licensed by the state
under RCW 74.15.090, or licensed by a federally recognized Indian tribe
located in this state under RCW 74.15.190, that has entered into a
performance-based contract with the department to provide case
management for the delivery and documentation of child welfare
services, as defined in this section.
(14) "Family assessment program" has the same meaning as provided
in section 2 of this act.
Sec. 8 RCW 74.13.031 and 2011 c 330 s 5 and 2011 c 160 s 2 are
each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
(1) The department and supervising agencies shall develop,
administer, supervise, and monitor a coordinated and comprehensive plan
that establishes, aids, and strengthens services for the protection and
care of runaway, dependent, or neglected children.
(2) Within available resources, the department and supervising
agencies shall recruit an adequate number of prospective adoptive and
foster homes, both regular and specialized, i.e. homes for children of
ethnic minority, including Indian homes for Indian children, sibling
groups, handicapped and emotionally disturbed, teens, pregnant and
parenting teens, and the department shall annually report to the
governor and the legislature concerning the department's and
supervising agency's success in: (a) Meeting the need for adoptive and
foster home placements; (b) reducing the foster parent turnover rate;
(c) completing home studies for legally free children; and (d)
implementing and operating the passport program required by RCW
74.13.285. The report shall include a section entitled "Foster Home
Turn-Over, Causes and Recommendations."
(3) The department shall investigate complaints of any recent act
or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker that results in
death, serious physical or emotional harm, or sexual abuse or
exploitation, or that presents an imminent risk of serious harm, and on
the basis of the findings of such investigation, offer child welfare
services in relation to the problem to such parents, legal custodians,
or persons serving in loco parentis, and/or bring the situation to the
attention of an appropriate court, or another community agency. An
investigation is not required of nonaccidental injuries which are
clearly not the result of a lack of care or supervision by the child's
parents, legal custodians, or persons serving in loco parentis. If the
investigation reveals that a crime against a child may have been
committed, the department shall notify the appropriate law enforcement
agency. The department shall provide a family assessment response
consistent with section 3 of this act.
(4) The department or supervising agencies shall offer, on a
voluntary basis, family reconciliation services to families who are in
conflict.
(5) The department or supervising agencies shall monitor placements
of children in out-of-home care and in-home dependencies to assure the
safety, well-being, and quality of care being provided is within the
scope of the intent of the legislature as defined in RCW 74.13.010 and
74.15.010. Under this section children in out-of-home care and in-home
dependencies and their caregivers shall receive a private and
individual face-to-face visit each month. The department and the
supervising agencies shall randomly select no less than ten percent of
the caregivers currently providing care to receive one unannounced
face-to-face visit in the caregiver's home per year. No caregiver will
receive an unannounced visit through the random selection process for
two consecutive years. If the caseworker makes a good faith effort to
conduct the unannounced visit to a caregiver and is unable to do so,
that month's visit to that caregiver need not be unannounced. The
department and supervising agencies are encouraged to group monthly
visits to caregivers by geographic area so that in the event an
unannounced visit cannot be completed, the caseworker may complete
other required monthly visits. The department shall use a method of
random selection that does not cause a fiscal impact to the department.
The department or supervising agencies shall conduct the monthly
visits with children and caregivers to whom it is providing child
welfare services.
(6) The department and supervising agencies shall have authority to
accept custody of children from parents and to accept custody of
children from juvenile courts, where authorized to do so under law, to
provide child welfare services including placement for adoption, to
provide for the routine and necessary medical, dental, and mental
health care, or necessary emergency care of the children, and to
provide for the physical care of such children and make payment of
maintenance costs if needed. Except where required by Public Law 95-
608 (25 U.S.C. Sec. 1915), no private adoption agency which receives
children for adoption from the department shall discriminate on the
basis of race, creed, or color when considering applications in their
placement for adoption.
(7) The department and supervising agency shall have authority to
provide temporary shelter to children who have run away from home and
who are admitted to crisis residential centers.
(8) The department and supervising agency shall have authority to
purchase care for children.
(9) The department shall establish a children's services advisory
committee with sufficient members representing supervising agencies
which shall assist the secretary in the development of a partnership
plan for utilizing resources of the public and private sectors, and
advise on all matters pertaining to child welfare, licensing of child
care agencies, adoption, and services related thereto. At least one
member shall represent the adoption community.
(10) The department and supervising agencies shall have authority
to provide continued extended foster care services to youth ages
eighteen to twenty-one years to participate in or complete a secondary
education program or a secondary education equivalency program.
(11) The department((, has)) shall have authority to provide
adoption support benefits, or relative guardianship subsidies on behalf
of youth ages eighteen to twenty-one years who achieved permanency
through adoption or a relative guardianship at age sixteen or older and
who meet the criteria described in subsection (10) of this section.
(12) The department shall refer cases to the division of child
support whenever state or federal funds are expended for the care and
maintenance of a child, including a child with a developmental
disability who is placed as a result of an action under chapter 13.34
RCW, unless the department finds that there is good cause not to pursue
collection of child support against the parent or parents of the child.
Cases involving individuals age eighteen through twenty shall not be
referred to the division of child support unless required by federal
law.
(13) The department and supervising agencies shall have authority
within funds appropriated for foster care services to purchase care for
Indian children who are in the custody of a federally recognized Indian
tribe or tribally licensed child-placing agency pursuant to parental
consent, tribal court order, or state juvenile court order; and the
purchase of such care shall be subject to the same eligibility
standards and rates of support applicable to other children for whom
the department purchases care.
Notwithstanding any other provision of RCW 13.32A.170 through
13.32A.200 and 74.13.032 through 74.13.036, or of this section all
services to be provided by the department under subsections (4), (6),
and (7) of this section, subject to the limitations of these
subsections, may be provided by any program offering such services
funded pursuant to Titles II and III of the federal juvenile justice
and delinquency prevention act of 1974.
(14) Within amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the
supervising agency or department shall provide preventive services to
families with children that prevent or shorten the duration of an out-of-home placement.
(15) The department and supervising agencies shall have authority
to provide independent living services to youths, including individuals
who have attained eighteen years of age, and have not attained twenty-one years of age who are or have been in foster care.
(16) The department and supervising agencies shall consult at least
quarterly with foster parents, including members of the foster parent
association of Washington state, for the purpose of receiving
information and comment regarding how the department and supervising
agencies are performing the duties and meeting the obligations
specified in this section and RCW 74.13.250 and 74.13.320 regarding the
recruitment of foster homes, reducing foster parent turnover rates,
providing effective training for foster parents, and administering a
coordinated and comprehensive plan that strengthens services for the
protection of children. Consultation shall occur at the regional and
statewide levels.
(((18))) (17)(a) The department shall, within current funding
levels, place on its public web site a document listing the duties and
responsibilities the department has to a child subject to a dependency
petition including, but not limited to, the following:
(i) Reasonable efforts, including the provision of services, toward
reunification of the child with his or her family;
(ii) Sibling visits subject to the restrictions in RCW
13.34.136(2)(b)(ii);
(iii) Parent-child visits;
(iv) Statutory preference for placement with a relative or other
suitable person, if appropriate; and
(v) Statutory preference for an out-of-home placement that allows
the child to remain in the same school or school district, if practical
and in the child's best interests.
(b) The document must be prepared in conjunction with a community-based organization and must be updated as needed.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9 Sections 1 through 4 of this act constitute
a new chapter in Title